There is quite an extensive list of indicators that our federal government is dysfunctional, but perhaps the most obvious of them all is the annual or semi-annual partisan battle to avoid a partial government shutdown. This happens because Congress is not doing its job. And while the looming shutdowns are usually avoided with last-minute continuing resolutions, or CRs – stopgap funding bills – it didn’t happen this time around, and the partial shutdown became effective as of midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
The blame game played by Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill had already been going on for some time. House Republicans managed to shepherd through a clean CR with no riders other than additional funds for security for all three branches of the federal government. That, at least, had bipartisan support. Most other funding would remain flat through Nov. 21.
Republicans aimed to tighten Medicaid eligibility requirements to eliminate waste and fraud, and the bill hit a roadblock in the Senate. Democrats, though they refuse to say it out loud, appear to want illegal aliens to receive federal healthcare benefits. They also demanded significant funding for National Public Radio and an extension of the pandemic-era Obamacare tax credits.
On Sept. 29, congressional leaders huddled with President Donald Trump at the White House, but no progress was made.
Late in the day, on Sept. 30, the finger-pointing continued, even as rumors swirled that a deal might be struck before the deadline. It seemed apparent, though, that Schumer had already determined to gamble on his ability to hold up any Republican-sponsored CR, let the shutdown happen, and then blame President Trump and the GOP. Polls indicated that most Americans would indeed hold Republicans responsible for a government shutdown.
Republicans are already calling this “the Schumer shutdown.” The leader of the Senate Democrats took a lot of flak for backing a Republican spending bill to avert a shutdown in March. So, perhaps, he finds himself unable to compromise again, having already spent that political capital. He may even face a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in 2026 for “siding” with Republicans in March – and his chances of surviving that challenge are perhaps not so good.
For his part, President Trump has suggested that he might use the shutdown to implement mass layoffs of federal government employees. When asked about numbers, the president was evasive. “We may do a lot,” he said, “and that’s only because of the Democrats.”
The longest government shutdown in history occurred during Trump’s first White House term. It began in December 2018 and lasted 35 days. Mark Mitchell of Rasmussen Reports shared some interesting polling numbers on X. Although most voters blamed Trump for the 2018 shutdown, his approval rating wasn’t noticeably affected. Additionally, most Americans polled after government shutdowns say their own lives were not significantly impacted.
So, maybe the hype around the shutdown is just that – hype. The most essential functions of government remain operational. Federal workers whose pay is frozen invariably receive back pay when the shutdown ends, and the American people barely notice it. These too-frequent dramas have really become about one party or the other – the Democrats, this time – holding up funding to force through a principal agenda item or secure extra tax dollars for a favored project. The American people should perhaps look at government shutdowns as a reminder that many of their congressional representatives are working for themselves and their party more than they are for the folks who elected them.